Chicago Sports Update 11-21-12

As we head into the Thanksgiving Holiday, there is a feast of sports news to catch up on. Starting with our “beloved” Chicago Bears…

Last night the Bears continued their winless streak in San Francisco as the Bears were pounded on by the 49ers by a final score of 32-7.

This was a battle of the backup quarterbacks as both Jay Cutler for the Bears and Alex Smith of the 49ers were sidelined with concussions sustained in their respective games last week.

Second year Niners quarterback Colin Caepernick had his way with the Bears defense. He was dual threat both passing and rushing.

The Frisco ground game also pitched in, but the biggest story was the 49er defense. Their pass rush made the Bears’ offensive line look like statues as Jason Campbell was sacked and hit multiple times.

The offense had no answer or solution to the dominant 49ers defense. To make matters even worse, the Bears defense looked lost out there.

The consequence of last night’s loss is that the Bears are now tied with those damn Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North (7-3 record).

The Packers also own the tie breaker over the Bears due to their victory at Lambeau Field back in week two.

Jay Cutler will speak with the media at 11am today to update the masses on his recovery. It is still unknown as to whether or not he will play this Sunday.

Perhaps today’s press conference at Halas Hall will shed some light on the situation. Regardless of who starts under center this week, the Bears still have to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Both sides of the ball will be tested as the Bears will have their hands full. On the offensive side, they will need to protect either Cutler or Campbell from Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

Allen is a fierce pass rusher and can stop the run when needed. On the defensive side, the Bears will have the daunting task of trying to either stop or contain Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

Peterson has had a remarkable recovery from ACL surgery, and has put up solid numbers this year.

If the Vikings can’t get it done on the ground, they will turn to second year quarterback Christian Ponder.

Ponder has been having a pro bowl year so far. He makes the big throws, he’s not afraid to take a hit, and he can make the Bears pay if they focus too much on Adrian Peterson.

The schedule from here gets a little harder for the Bears. They need to win if they are to keep pace with the Packers.

The Bulls haven’t done much better than the Bears as they have also lost two in a row. The 5-5 Bulls are in the final stages of their annual “circus road trip”.

Tonight they make their way into “Clutch City” to take on the Houston Rockets. This will be a good opportunity for the Bulls to take advantage as the Rockets have lost their last three and only sport a record of 4-7.

The blockbuster James Hardin trade at the beginning of the season hasn’t quite worked out the way the Rockets were hoping.

Their other big acquisition, Jeremy Lin, has also struggled. Lin hasn’t been the same since he had knee surgery which caused him to miss the second half of last season.

Hopefully the Bulls can take advantage of the Rockets woes and get back into the win column. As for the other United Center tenant, the Chicago Blackhawks are still in limbo as the NHL is still on strike.

Both the NHLPA and the NHL Owners remain at a stalemate and it doesn’t look like this will end any time soon. The league has already cancelled the annual New Years Day Winter Classic.

Our good friends at the Chicago Rush have been very busy during the Arena Football League’s offseason.

Yesterday the team announced that it had re-signed some key players from the 2012 season. Defensive linemen Derek Walker and and Darrel Campbell, fullback J.J. Payne, offensive lineman Ryan O’Neill, and defensive backs Semaj Moody and Jorrick Calvin will all be returning for 2013.

While all of these men were key players last season, the biggest re-signing has been top wide receiver Reggie Gray.

Reggie Gray has been the leading receiver for the Rush the last couple of seasons. He is also a fan favorite, and he is very involved in the Chicago community and with charitable causes.

After teasing fans about a possible move to another team on his Facebook page over the last couple days, Gray officially announced just after 5pm on Monday that he will indeed to return to the Rush.

These transactions are just a small portion of what the Rush have done since the free agent signing period in the AFL began. You can see the rest of the Rush’s offseason activities here: http://arenarush.com/news/rush/?article_id=238

There are also rumors swirling that the Rush could see either a change in color scheme, logo, or both.

Nothing has been confirmed so stay tuned. This weekend I will be back on the beat as I will be covering the Wolves game this Saturday night.

The 8-5-2-0 Wolves will play host to the Milwaukee Admirals who have become one of the Wolves’ biggest rivals.

Face off is just after 7pm from the Allstate Arena, and you can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports

You can also friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GabeSalgado82

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